this love is fading
by hurohurokuma
Summary: Laxus Dreyar knew he was his father's puppet. But it was his role to redeem his father and fix his broken family. So he'd agreed to marry Levy, with all intent of having Makarov's approval again. As long as both of them were doing their duties as husband and wife, nothing would go wrong. That was until she disappeared one night. He hadn't expected the havoc she could bring along.
1. finding levy

**[1/3] this love is fading;**_ Laxus Dreyar knew he was a puppet of his father. But he knew it was his role to redeem his father and fix his broken family. So he'd agreed to marry the child, Levy, with all intent of having Makarov's approval again. As long as both of them were doing their duties as husband and wife, nothing would go wrong. That was until she disappeared one night. He hadn't expected the havoc she could bring along. _

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**I hold no ownership or whatsoever of Fairy Tail,and the characters used in this work of fiction**

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_i. finding levy_

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**_._**

**_._**

"How are you, Laxus?" Bixlow said dryly as the man walked in stiffly in his office. As for he, Benjamin Kase Law, rather known as Bixlow, sat on his chair, reading up a recent case with a mug of caffeine in his grip. He looked up finally at his visitor who sported the trademark scowl and that same zigzag scar on his eye.

"Levy, I need to find her," the other said simply not bothering to sit himself. Benjamin raised a brow but placed down all his previous work. He smirked up to his colleague before leaning back against his chair casually.

Laxus Dreyar grew up with him. Though it may sound so surprising, Laxus's grandfather had the tendency to help little dirty children from the streets. He had been no different. It was back in the time that he had been running away from a child-trafficking caravan. Old Makarov took him in kindly, christening him with a real name, though he still liked his first name.

"But she'd been lost since like when?" he said, not batting an eye, in declination. In the circle of friends Laxus made among the orphans, he was one of those who didn't tail him around. He had his own agendas; he had his own goals. "Since forever?" he filled quite amused.

He hadn't met Levy McGarden Dreyar. But he'd heard about her and his marriage with Laxus. He didn't attend to the wedding however. He had his own agendas; he had his own goals. And being part of a reality TV show wasn't part of it. Though he shared a couple of coins from Makarov's pocket and even the honor of being part of the Dreyars, he had refused. It took guts to be a Dreyar.

And he didn't find that appealing.

"I'll pay you, you runt," the Dreyar said half growling. He never had enough for anything. And Bixlow had the hobby of pissing off people before seriously talking to them. He tilted his head to the side, his lips in a wicked smile. "Oh, yeah? My work is paying me pretty good, thank you."

"I'm not playing your games, Bixlow."

His gaze turned sharp at the tone his name had been said. He hadn't expected Laxus to be that serious.

Levy was a show to the public. She was a doll to entertain the public and expand the Dreyar business. It was no secret that the McGardens were also a big name in their own industry. And Levy has the blood of the Loxar as well; a name that reigned in the northern part of Fiore's commerce. Not to forget that the Loxars were merging with the Redfox through marriage as well. Connections; it was all about connections. Because Ivan could not penetrate in the Dragneel's company. The cruel man used his son to seduce the child.

"You know what I'm talking about." In fact he did. He knew well of the people around him. He was quite sharper than what others take him as. With a brief bark of laughter, he stood up talking around his table to greet his friend.

"I just wanted you to say 'please', though, Sparky," he said jokingly. Holding out his hand, he smirked, "I was looking for an interesting case anyway. You got yourself a deal."

Laxus held out his hand to accept his friend's only to shake the air where the hand was supposed to be. "Not without a _please_ still though."

"Goddamit, Bixlow."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Let's start with searching her belongings, though it may be hard because it'd been quite a long time," Bixlow started as they stepped in Laxus' expensive car. Whistling at it before he turned to look at his friend, he grinned. "You know I'll search the depths of the earth if you'd give me this _baby_."

"No." He hadn't changed a bit. Laxus was still Laxus; rough and gruff. But to come seeking a woman who had ran away from him was new. Bixlow wondered amused as to why the man was seeking his runaway wife. Laxus was the kind that doesn't get attached. He was too afraid to be abandoned to be attached. He was not in love with Levy McGarden; he never was. For one, he does not even believe in love. Ever since his family had broken apart, nothing had fixed him. Laxus was not perfect—even the most handsome business tycoon in Magnolia was broken.

"Imma bring my partner along if she ain't drunk, yeah?" he said casually diverting the topic. He will find out sooner what this was about. And he was not about to hurry too much.

"She's been gone for a good five years. Her belongings are untouched—until recently. Someone had forced _her_ room open," Laxus replied gravely unmindful of his previous statement. There was that look on him, as his brows seemed to leave a dark shadow over his eyes.

"Her room?" Bixlow echoed his eyes turning into slit noting the details of Laxus's story. "I take you don't share rooms?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Nothing was out of place for a man with untrained eyes. Bixlow frowned taking an initial look inside. It had to be someone who knew her well to see more than meets the eye. He didn't know Levy; he didn't know anything of her. And all he could do was snoop into the evident ones as of the moment.

"Is she dead?" his voice came. Bixlow's frown turned deeper as he glared at the shadow looming behind him. It was safe to assume that she was after all the years; she had no one to turn to aside from the Loxars, whom themselves conducted a search party after she disappeared from thin air. But nothing came up, and the Dreyars were bland about it aside from Makarov.

"I'm no magician, how could I tell?" he replied harsher than he intended. There was a pregnant silence before he sighed and turned to his employer. Laxus had a different air about him as he looked through the room. For a moment there was a hint of weakness that flashed his eyes, before he straightened himself. And there was nothing but the concrete Laxus Dreyar. Bixlow _almost_ felt guilty.

"If someone came here to find something, there might be a chance that she is dead and they are trying to exterminate whatever she knows," he replied finally. Laxus did not step inside the room he noticed. But his expression remained still and bland.

"Give me statistics," he said flatly.

"I don't know her and the definite rate on her survival. But we could think positive and conclude that they don't know where she is and are also trying to find clues on her whereabouts. Calm yourself, Laxus, there are infinite possibilities," Bixlow said as he walked up to the man who stood by the door frame. There was something he hadn't seen before, or perhaps he did but he could not point a finger upon it.

He knew the man, yes. But he had never seen him in such state. There was something so much more behind his eyes, and masking it with indifference only confirmed Bixlow's suspicions. Laxus didn't look at him, but neither did he look into her things, the shifting of his gaze made Bixlow smirk.

"Find me someone who knows her well," he added and received a dirty look from the other.

"Aren't you the detective around?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

_What are you afraid of, Laxus?_

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**[2/3] ****the last of evil; **Gajeel Redfox was everything but kind. So when he turned back to the other cheek, he was taken under Pantherlily's care, as a payment of his debt to Gajeel's father. After living around by the shore of Extalia, he finds an amnesiac girl washed ashore. Yet he hadn't expected to fall in love with her. Now, he can't let her go. So he swears so secretly that keeping her and her child would be the last evil he'd ever do.

**[3/3] ****my heart is beating; **Levy McGarden was married by the age of eighteen to the dashing Laxus Dreyar. Yet her life wasn't glitz and glamour as what they let out to the public. Barely tolerated under her own roof, she comes into many conclusions for her life and the marriage. When divorce was out of hand, she runs away keeping her pregnancy a secret. She hadn't expected to meet an accident and fall in love with her savior.

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**a.n. **Tis like a trilogy of the sort. After 'This Love is Fading', will be Levy's and Gajeel's spin-off. I've always wanted to write about Levy being preggy... whoops.


	2. secrets that flicker

**[1/3] this love is fading;**_ Laxus Dreyar knew he was a puppet of his father. But he knew it was his role to redeem his father and fix his broken family. So he'd agreed to marry the child, Levy, with all intent of having Makarov's approval again. As long as both of them were doing their duties as husband and wife, nothing would go wrong. That was until she disappeared one night. He hadn't expected the havoc she could bring along._

* * *

**I hold no ownership or whatsoever of Fairy Tail,and the characters used in this work of fiction**

* * *

_ii. secrets that flicker_

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Talking with Lucy H. Dragneel was not the proudest thing Laxus Dreyar had ever done. The writer slash heiress of the Hearfilia Railways was not a very appealing person. Meeting her in few occasions before had anchored his belief that she was no dignified woman of the social class.

She was eccentric, and not the kind he was interested in. She was loud, and had too much self confidence in her that he sometimes imagined if he could hang her upside down it will all pour out. But she was the only one who knew Levy more than anyone ever since her parents died.

"Laxus," her voice had grown heavier the last time they spoke. Considering the last time was during college, she had significantly changed a lot. In an instance, an image of Levy flashed through his eyes. Seeing Lucy brought back a few memories of his missing wife.

They _had_ been inseparable.

"_Dragneel_," he greeted back, politeness evident in his tone. She looked at him through her thick lashes as if figuring out what business he had with her before he could even speak. He could have allowed her to jump in her conclusions but he was in a hurry. "I need to find Levy."

"She's gone," she replied too quickly. She did not even falter, or flinch. It was as if she knew all along or knew something he did not.

"Is she alive?" this time, she flinched. Her eyes wide as saucers, as she dropped the cup she had held.

"Good heavens, Laxus!" she exclaimed bolting to her feet. The rattling sound of the cup broken on the floor seemed far. "Can you hear yourself?!" The anger in her voice only prompted him to suspect that she had a hint on her location. But at the same time, he could not read her. There was confusion and fear reflecting through her unguarded brown eyes.

"The Loxars were looking for her," he replied taking a sit elegantly. "But they stopped. And a few days ago someone broke into her room."

"Juvia, they were supposed to meet," Lucy gasped; the truth lingering in the tip of her tongue. Realization struck her too late, when she covered her mouth a minute later. She fell back on the chair, but Laxus had already risen to his feet. A hand meeting her wrist almost immediately bruising her pristine skin.

He could deal with Natsu later; because right now he needed to know.

"What do you know?" He growled slowly.

.

.

.

"Laxus," he answered as he reviewed a few previous reports he had missed from the company. Bixlow's voice had been muffled, quite sharper than the normal. It took him a good minute to realize it had been a female that had called him from Bixlow's phone. "What?"

There was a sigh of frustration from the other side before a pregnant silence fell. Immediately, Laxus put down the files knowing this was something of great significance.

**_There might not be a clue left in her room; but how about yours? Levy was a smart kid, wasn't she? Did Levy gave you something?_**

As soon as the message was delivered, his eyes narrowed. He was already heading down and off to his car. He knew his father wouldn't be pleased from his sudden disappearance, but this _more_ important than the company.

Sitting in his car, he dug through his thoughts of anything that Levy gave him. "The marriage ring?" he said to himself. He could not remember any gift from Levy. She was a sweet girl but she was not the type to give gifts.

His hand came to his neck checking his necklace in place. He, too, was not the type for wearing his marriage ring. His ring hung upon his necklace, as it had been the entire time. There was a feeling crawling upon his spine, but he ignored it.

An image of Levy sitting beside him flashed in the shadows of his mind. She was just sitting there, quiet as she had been when they were together. He had seen her with friends but she had always grown recluse with him. He had always chalked it up to newlyweds and their shyness to each other. But years went on, and Levy spoke to him only as a respect to their marriage. Still he was contented with that. He told himself. "Who am I fooling?" he growled, his statement directed to the_ image_ of Levy sitting beside him.

"Where are you?" even beside him, there was always that faraway look in her eyes. She was there but at the same time she was in some other place. They were living in the same house but she was somewhere else. She was never there where he was. She was always so distant; always somewhere where he was not.

But the_ image_ of Levy beside him did not answer; there was only silence and a man looking for what he had _lost_. The seat beside him was empty as it had been all along.

.

.

.

Levy was most beautiful when she smiled, Laxus figured. He was in his study room, a picture placed solemnly alone on his desk. He didn't remember when he placed it, but it had been there for a long time. A picture of her and him, and the last time she ever smiled as wide.

"So you're Bixlow's partner?" he asked as the woman sat herself in front of him. She was reeking alcohol it was almost revolting. "Cana Alberona," he said but his eyes still lingering on his desk. He had heard much about her, but he had been too tired to care about it.

People come and go. Sometimes, if they weren't important, he would shrug them off. Those who did not become anything of significant would fade into oblivion. Cana Alberona was one of them. It rang a bell, but he hadn't put too much effort on it. The way she spoke made it seem that they've met however.

"And I presume you're Mira's lover, and Levy's husband?" she drawled albeit tauntingly. Her eyes were fierce and strong, a quality he knew he'd seen before. But when the words left her lips, his eyes immediately snapped to her; rage reflecting with no attempt of discretion. He was up on his feet before he knew it, knocking the picture frame on the process. A growl grumbling in his throat, "Alberona," he snarled dangerously.

She too was on her toes, leveling his glare with her own.

And Bixlow stepped in just in time. "Wait—wait, isn't it too early to fuck my partner, Laxus? I haven't even bedded her." He had not meant it to down to its very meaning of course. It wasn't a sore topic, for him that is. Cana and him, they were friends, and just that. Sleeping around each other wasn't really out of Bixlow's definition. So perhaps, that was one white lie, Cana did not take lightly.

"Shut up, you sexist fiend," Cana replied hotly as she whipped her head, Bixlow responded with a nonchalant shrug. Then his eyes turned slit, turning to Laxus with critical eyes.

Laxus felt it. He felt the threat. They've known each other long enough to be able to see what real anger was like; and what a warning was like. Bixlow wasn't a gentleman, he didn't believe on women should walk before a man, or that he should help a woman cross the road. But he took care of women under his wings. Whether that was his true nature or if it had a deeper reason behind it, he was not sure.

But Laxus saw warning, at the brink of anger. For a moment, he wondered how it felt like to have something to protect because he wanted to and not because he was obliged to.

Sometimes, he envied Bixlow's freedom. He was so different. He was so free. There was not a single restraint that he could not break out. As a boy, he was so different; always that boy who fought against the tide.

Laxus frowned and fell back down his chair. It was people like Bixlow that he always had to play his cards right. He had known the man for so long to know that he knew how dangerous Bixlow could be if he wanted to.

"I demand you to watch your tongue, Alberona. I am still your employer," he warned carefully, eyes now focused on the only woman in the room. Cana turned to him, eyes narrowed dangerously, unaccepting. Headstrong women were not uncommon in this lifetime, he thought annoyed. He had so much of them, it was almost earsplitting. Had Levy been somewhat like this, he wondered, would they had understood each other more effectively?

Bixlow turned calm, as if he had not threatened to bite Laxus' head off a moment ago. A playful smirked danced on his lips as he pranced across the room. "I take Cana had yet to tell you the little victory we had?"

Laxus silence prompted him to speak some more, now the man looking interested than anything.

"But before that," Bixlow said his voice rough and raspy. "Tell us about your visit to Mrs Dragneel and your affair with Mirajane Strauss."

By the looks of Laxus' face, Bixlow knew he hit _jackshit_.

* * *

**[2/3] ****the last of evil; **Gajeel Redfox was everything but kind. So when he turned back to the other cheek, he was taken under Pantherlily's care, as a payment of his debt to Gajeel's father. After living around by the shore of Extalia, he finds an amnesiac girl washed ashore. Yet he hadn't expected to fall in love with her. Now, he can't let her go. So he swears so secretly that keeping her and her child would be the last evil he'd ever do.

**[3/3] ****my heart is beating; **Levy McGarden was married by the age of eighteen to the dashing Laxus Dreyar. Yet her life wasn't glitz and glamour as what they let out to the public. Barely tolerated under her own roof, she comes into many conclusions for her life and the marriage. When divorce was out of hand, she runs away keeping her pregnancy a secret. She hadn't expected to meet an accident and fall in love with her savior.

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**a.n. **_fic:tlif _ on tumblr.


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